Team Canada takes second place at Pan Am Black Bass Championship

Team Canada has placed second at the Pan American Black Bass Championship, held from September 25 to 28, on New Brunswick’s Saint John River.

The 16-member, silver-medal team was captained by TV fishing icon Bob Izumi, and included Bassmaster Elite Series anglers Cooper Gallant and Jeff Gustafson, among other elite Canadian bass anglers. The defending champions, Team USA, once again took first place, with China placing third.

Each nation fielded eight two-person teams, with the top pair’s heaviest fish counting toward the team’s final score. Over 200 anglers took part in the event, with teams from Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Turtle Island and the Wolastoqey First Nation, as well as the Canadian, American and Chinese contingents.

The 2024 Pan Am was the largest international competitive fishing event held in Canada, and the first of its kind held in the Maritimes. The event was based at the newly built Big Axe Marina, in Nackawic, New Brunswick, near Fredericton. As well as the well-attended weigh-ins, organizers produced a livestream, featuring activities both on off the water, which garnered some 110,000 impressions during the event.

For more about the Pan American Black Bass Championship, tournament results, and to watch videos of the weigh-in and fishing action, see the Canadian International Sportfishing Association‘s Team Canada Bass page on Facebook.